NHL season will be dogfight beginning with opening night tripleheader

Filip Forsberg has played in the NHL for about a decade. When he looks around the League, this is what he sees.

"It's stacked," the Nashville Predators forward said. "I mean, it's the best the League has ever been, in my opinion."

It's hard to argue.

There are 32 teams in the NHL and still only 16 spots in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The race is unpredictable. Comebacks are common. Scoring is up. Superstars are shining.

The 2023-24 season will be must-see TV from the start with a tripleheader Tuesday on ESPN, ESPN+, Sportsnet and TVA Sports.

The Predators visit the Tampa Bay Lightning at 5:30 p.m. ET. Then Connor Bedard, the No. 1 pick in the 2023 NHL Draft, makes his NHL debut against Sidney Crosby when the Chicago Blackhawks visit the Pittsburgh Penguins at 8 p.m. ET. Finally, the Vegas Golden Knights raise their Stanley Cup banner and host the Seattle Kraken at 10:30 p.m. ET.

"I'm a hockey fan," Golden Knights center Jack Eichel said. "I'm always interested in everything that goes on in the League. I watch hockey every night at home. Of course, I'll be watching Connor, and who doesn't watch Sid, right?

"I think it's great for the League, somebody who's just starting their career and somebody who's established himself as one of the all-time greats. It'll be a good opening night and hopefully we can cap it off with a good win."

Look at the standings last season and try to guess what they'll look like at the end of this season.

Good luck.

Each season since the NHL introduced the wild card format in 2013-14, five to seven teams have made the playoffs after failing to qualify the season before (not counting 2019-20 to 2021-22 due to COVID-19 disruptions).

Five did it last season: the Golden Knights, Kraken, New Jersey Devils, New York Islanders and Winnipeg Jets.

The Golden Knights won the Stanley Cup. The team they faced in the Stanley Cup Final? The Florida Panthers, who were nine points out of a playoff spot in late December, rallied to earn the second wild card from the Eastern Conference and went on an epic run.

The Devils improved by 49 points, the Kraken by 40, and each won a series. In their second season since joining the NHL as an expansion team, the Kraken came within a game of the Western Conference Final, taking the Dallas Stars to Game 7 in the second round.

"It's really tight," Edmonton Oilers forward Leon Draisaitl said. "There's lots of great teams. Definitely tough but makes it fun."

Who's going to make a leap this season?

The Penguins, who added defenseman Erik Karlsson and forward Reilly Smith? The Arizona Coyotes, Buffalo Sabres, Detroit Red Wings or Ottawa Senators, all up-and-coming teams?

The Calgary Flames, who have a new coach in Ryan Huska? The Predators, who have made major changes including a new coach (Andrew Brunette) and new No. 1 center (Ryan O'Reilly)?

"The League is just so wide open," said Forsberg, who went to the Cup Final with the Predators in 2017, when they earned the second wild card in the West. "You have to punch your ticket and you have as good of a chance as anybody."

The NHL had 210 third-period comeback wins in 2022-23 after 220 in 2021-22. It could reach 200 in three straight seasons for the first time ever.

The League averaged 6.4 goals per game in 2022-23, the most since 6.5 in 1993-94. It could average at least 6.0 in three straight seasons for the first time since it did so in 26 straight seasons from 1970-71 to 1995-96.

Toronto Maple Leafs center Auston Matthews scored 60 goals in 2021-22. Oilers center Connor McDavid had 64 and Boston Bruins forward David Pastrnak 61 in 2022-23. The NHL could have a 60-goal scorer three seasons in a row for the first time since a 14-season stretch from 1980-81 to 1993-94.

McDavid had 153 points last season, the most since Penguins center Mario Lemieux had 161 in 1995-96. He could become the third player in NHL history with back-to-back 150-point seasons after Oilers center Wayne Gretzky (seven straight from 1980-81 to 1986-87) and Lemieux (1987-88 and 1988-89).

The NHL had 11 players reach 100 points last season. It could have back-to-back seasons of 10 with at least 100 for the first time since 1989-90 and 1990-91.

"What excites me about this year is really a progression of what's excited me about the last several years," NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly said. "I think the game is in a really, really good place. I think the game on the ice and the skill that our players have is at all-time high levels."

NHL Stats contributed